The present invention relates generally to a pneumatic system for unloading granular material from a nonpressurized container, and more particularly pertains to a pneumatic system for unloading grain from an open vessel such as a barge.
There presently exists a substantial demand for the shipment of granular material, such as wheat, to various parts of the world. At the same time, present political and economic situations around the world have resulted in a surplusage of oil tankers. In view of the surplusage of oil tankers and the demand for shipment of wheat, it would be desirable to be able to transport wheat in vessels designed for the carriage of oil.
Loading and unloading of granular materials should be handled as quickly and efficiently as possible. One method used in the prior art to unload granular material such as wheat has utilized VACUVATOR equipment, which is in the nature of a giant vacuum cleaner. This equipment is brought on board the vessel being unloaded, and wheat is simply vacuumed out of the vessel holds during unloading. One problem with this approach is that it is very time consuming.
Often, wheat transporting ships are too large to dock in port, and accordingly these large ships must be loaded and unloaded in deeper water away from the docks. In this situation the cargo may be loaded onto smaller vessels, such as barges, for transportation between the dock and larger ship. Some of these large ships, such as oil tankers, have large blower systems on board which are utilized for various functions. It would be desirable to have a system for unloading granular material from a vessel, such as a barge, which operates rapidly and effeciently, and which could take advantage of an existing blower system.